Tales Characters Birthdays!

[Kat]

Discussion time about the birthdays of the characters! A lot of this is going to end up being based on the good old "science" of Astrology (purely because not much birthday info was given, sadly; also because even though I don't really believe in it myself, I still LOVE looking up astrological information on characters).

Official Birthdays

Patch: March 16th (stated during the episode "Princess Problems")
Astrological Info: Pisces: As a Pisces born between the 11th and 20th March you have a streak of Scorpio in your nature which makes you passionate, demanding and very intense. An input of 100% is rarely good enough for you so you need to be careful of not being too possessive or jealous in your relationships. Further to this, she is considered to be born along the Pisces-Aries cusp, which fits her much better than typical Pisces: While as the typical Piscean can sometimes be indrawn and indecisive about which direction to take, the fire of Aries will make you more decisive and even sometimes aggressive in your approach. Because you are primarily concerned with helping others and giving assistance to those who are less fortunate than yourself the strong ego quality of Aries will make it hard for you to balance self with others. There are times when you are swinging between sheer egotism and pure selflessness. To balance these two extremes in your nature may for many of you be a lifelong challenge. You have a creative and enterprising nature and want to achieve something in the world but can also bring to that activity some wonderful spiritual and emotional qualities.

Close-To-Official Birthdays

Ace: April 3rd or 10th (his birthday is mentioned in the MLP comic #206, which came out during the week of April 4-10 of 1993, thus making sense that the timing of events in that comic occurs the week prior; his birthday party is on the Saturday, and that particular Saturday happens to be the 3rd of April; however it may also be the 10th, in case the events of the comic are meant to be taking place during the week of publication)
Astrological Info: Aries: Being born between the 31st of March and the 10th of April makes you proud, loyal and sometimes inflexible in your opinions. You have a very strong idea about how life should be lived and you're not prepared to make concessions to others. You are, however, very charming and love to stand out in the crowd. The way you dress, your appearance and your reputation are extremely important to you. You are also very competitive and this aspect of your nature can make you a target for those who become envious of your successful and unique life. You may need to employ a little humility to smooth out some of the more difficult relationships in your life. Is this not 100% Ace? Traits of the Aries: Determined, fiery, executive skills, born leader, impulsive, headstrong, opinionated, loyal, physical, driven, ambitious. Yeah - all Ace.

Sweetheart: June 6 or 7 (less likely is 13 or 14) (reference: Happy Birthday Sweetheart episode; Ponyland does experience the four seasons, so it will need to be a summer month if they're swimming in a lake; there is a summer holiday from school mentioned in the comics - which in the US usually starts towards the middle to end of June, and Brighteyes mentions having gotten a B on her last test due to practice, so they are still in school - however there should still be some school left because she would not accept getting a B on her last test of the school year; takes place on the weekend, as they need a full day in order to: practice their routine, perform said routine in the contest, get their hair done, hang out on the boat, then have a party at night; while on the boat Lancer states that they need to come to an agreement "before it's no longer Sweetheart's birthday") Also: based on character sheets, Sweetheart was intended to be the youngest of the girls, so it follows that everyone else's birthday should occur before hers.
Astrological Info: Gemini: I don't think she really fits as a Gemini, but then again I haven't really done the most in-depth character analysis of her yet, so I will reserve my judgement on this for the time being. Traits of the Gemini: Multi-talented, thinker, talkative, social, scattered, diverse interests, loves variety and excitement

Pure Speculation

Sadly none of the other characters got any information regarding their birthday (as far as I remember/have found so far, so let's have fun trying to figure them out! Please feel free to give your ideas - they can be based on anything you like! I'll share mine here and will edit this post if we come to any sorts of conclusions regarding ideal birthdays!

Starlight: September 4-14; according to MLP & Friends comic #38 (and character sheets for the TV show), Starlight is the oldest of the girls; the show was produced by Sunbow Productions, an American company based in New York - the state of NY has differing age requirements for school based on school district, so I don't have a "must be this age by this date" range to go on, so I'd like to use August 1st as that date for clarity and simplicity's sake. (So all of the characters must have their birthdays between August 1st to whenever Sweetheart's birthday is in order to be in the same class at school.)
Astrological Info Virgo: "If you're born between the 4th and 14th of September you are a quick thinker, can reach a decisive viewpoint without too much trouble and at times you have moments of intuition that surprise you. Watch that you don't become bogged down in a serious way." I'd like to think this sums Starlight up especially well - she has a habit of demonstrating that she is quick to think of solutions to problems. Traits of the Virgo sign: Loving, susceptible, sympathetic, sensual, faithful, instinctive, charitable, over-reactive and moody.
Mismatched Romantic Signs for Virgo: Aries (her "relationship" with Ace isn't really a good one for her on the show, so this particularly amused me)

(***Kinda running out of time tonight to go more in-depth for the others below, so just posting my first glance ideas as I'm going over astrological signs; so this may change for me when I get more time***)

Melody: Libra? Traits of the Libra: Refined, social, artistic, indecisive, intellectual, communicative and concerned with relationships (I'm torn on intellectual - she does enjoy creating her own secret code languages, and there is her music writing which is intellectual to a degree - but there's no evidence of whether or not she's into other intellectual pursuits)

Brighteyes: Libra? The final portion of Libra is between the 14th and 23rd October. If this is your birth date you are the type of Libran who is constantly on the hunt for knowledge and information – an almost insatiable thirst. You will never tire of learning new things and could be kindly termed the eternal student. As well you will never grow old as Mercury’s co-rulership of your life ensures a youthful attitude and sprightly future.
Capricorn? If you were born between 2 and 11th January you are sometimes inflexible and this can be particularly problematic for your relationships. You are also somewhat possessive and jealous. You are extremely practical and your common sense will be one of your most invaluable assets.

Clover: Libra? or Capricorn (leaning on Libra - they're artistic (her dancing, and she enjoys painting in the comics) and apparently they have trouble telling people no, which we saw in "And The Winner Is...")

Bon Bon: Taurus: Those of you born between the 21st and the 29th of April have the double Taurus/Venus energy. You are enamored by love and romance and will struggle to meet the right sort of person in your life. Once you do, you’ll be able to share the deepest parts of your personality and your emotions with them. Caring for the one you love is a high priority in your life

Teddy: Leo - Impatience and a hot-headed nature are some of the problems you face being born between the 15th and the 23rd of August. Once you can bring these emotions under control you have a much better chance of not only being successful but finding happiness in your personal affairs as well. Because of the strong influence of Mars and Aries on your birthday you have a strong ego and need to understand that others may just be right sometimes. Notwithstanding these negative traits, you do have a very generous nature and are affectionate to the ones you care for.

Lancer: Gemini: Being born between the 22nd of May and the 1st of June makes you a Gemini with a cusp influence of the previous sign, Taurus. Although you’re primarily an intellectual type with intense Mercurial influences, Venus, the ruler of Taurus, also imprints upon you considerable sensuality, grace and charm. You not only love the written word, intellectual pursuits and other forms of communication, but may gravitate towards artistic, musical and creative pursuits to express your inner need for cultural perfection.

[Notes]

Hmm… before I eagerly explain my birthdates for the show, I must note that I had NO LIVING IDEA that the official character sheets were released. I remember Wildshadow’s Clover and Teddy ones looked official but were just fanmade - but THEY ARE?!?! I need a link to these! Or if you don’t have a link, I’ll just have to scour those sketchy sites where there might be Tales stuff but isn’t in search of them.

By the by, I found different definitions - from psychicguild.com. So I’m going from those. To keep things somewhat succinct, I’m sticking to the life pursuits and secret desires, though some fit more, some fit less with the additional information.

Without further ado… in age order...

Starlight - Undecided, 1981
I didn’t immediately believe you when you said Starlight was the oldest not because I don’t trust you, but because you listed it as a comic. We have very different interpretations of what these comics imply! Characterization is just the interpretation of canon. While I could assume that it is official because the comic comes right out and says “Starlight is the oldest pony in all of Ponyland,” but I need to see it to believe it.

But now that I know it’s on that sheet… I’ll have to think of something!

That said, on your thoughts… I’ve never saw “over-reactive” as having a place in Starlight’s personality. Her greatest strength of leadership failed her in An Apple for Starlight, and yet she still didn’t let herself be overwhelmed. Just for Kicks she was being a bit emotional, but hardly overreactive. In my viewing, at least.

Bon Bon - July 22nd, 1981
(Annotation - Dreamt up for the sake of continuity)

Alright. So Bon Bon being the second oldest is a little… strange. But for my universe it makes sense.

Firstly, continuity. I think that the Tales series took place across the ‘91-’92 vacuum. Slumber Party took place around the end of July, like the 30th or something. Bon Bon happened to live in a different place, the island of Mecklenburger, where she summarily had problems with her peers. She moved to Ponyland three to four months before Slumber Party, in which she got herself comfortable living in Ponyland.

So, to not to celebrate, but just to have a slumber party a week after her birthday, makes sense considering how little excuse the girls need to get together and have fun.

Plus, there are some of her interactions with the other ponies that could be changed by her elderly age. The three youngest ponies are Patch, Clover and Sweetheart.

Allow me to elaborate, taking Clover and Patch as examples, because their different interactions are a bit more obvious than with Sweetheart, who is more mature most of the time.

Clover’s younger age brings about naivette. Not about failure and such, but… about some of the horrors of the real world. Bon Bon is more than happy to share about the dangers, right from the start. And, it’s in that and a few other traits that makes them not only very close friends, but Clover looks up to Bon Bon somewhat. Not like how she does so with Meadowlark, but still somewhat. It might even be unconscious.

“Maturity” isn’t the only friction point for Patch and Bon Bon’s friendship. But it does indeed come up sometimes.

As a lucky bonus, her birth sign is Cancer. According to my source, Cancer is to have the life goal of “constant reassurance and intimacy.” The secret desire is to be safe emotionally, financially, spiritually, and romantically. Though Virgo also works very well (and is somewhat within continuity…) with its “Do the Right Thing” and “Be loved” aspirations. Cancer is perfect for my BB, though!

Regarding your thoughts… I’ve thought the opposite about Bon Bon. I don’t think she’s very interested in romance at all! She has a treacherous love life and quite a few crushes over the course of a year (more than the others), but I think she’d be more interested in being secure in her friendships. Just me, though.

Melody - August 22nd
(Annotation - Dreamt up to support continuity)

Melody in third place makes a whole load of sense to me. I mean, she does a lot for her family, and her mom trusts her to watch the mischievous twins, based on the comics, a lot. It also normally isn’t commonplace for nine-year-olds to have bands, and to play out on stage on television competitions for it.

She also expresses an interest in going on a date with Chain Link. Though that happens, it differs from some other crushes in the series. For example, Sweetheart’s “crush” on Teddy in Bon Bon’s Diary. She likes Teddy. Melody openly said she loved Chain Link and wanted to go on a date with him. The two are different.

Plus, in the sequences where height is drawn out, she tends to be tall, though I do think she is just tall regardless of age.

As yet another bonus, this puts her on the tail end of Leo. According to my site I used, she has the life’s purpose of leading the way… with a secret desire to be a star. Not really a secret with Melly, huh?

Regarding your thoughts… I DO think Melody would be interested in something else intellectual. Coming up with and writing music can be in many different forms, though. Sometimes it’s writing down what sounds good. But Melody’s way in Battle of the Bands, at least, tells me she takes it a line at a time and sits down at a desk to do it. It isn’t history or school, though, if a few comments of hers are anything to go by.

We must figure this out, though! Hmm… does she, perhaps, enjoy puzzles? Or… oh, perhaps she likes debating. It could be fun to play with, at least.

Bright Eyes - November 20th

(Annotation - Laura Harris’s birthdate)

For Bright Eyes, I choose… November 20th! The reason I chose this arbitrary name is twofold. First off, yes, Laura Harris, her voice actor, was born November 20th. Often people use actor birthdates for characters.

But in addition, there is a person I know who reminds me a bit of Bright Eyes for some strange reason, who has a birthday on November 23rd. So I can partially apply my own experience to the area, which is always a good thing.

As far as astromancy goes, Bright Eyes is Scorpio. Her life’s goal is described as wanting to counter all opposition and to triumph. Makes odd sense there. BUT, she’s right on the border of Sagittarian, which means wanting to live the good life. But, get this… her “secret desire” is to make a difference in the world.

That makes so much sense, considering her environmental pursuits in two out of four of her episodes. (Roll Around the Clock, Birds of a Feather, Ponies in Paradise, and… Who’s Responsible. Doesn’t feel like Bright Eyes got that much… then again, she had some pals with her for each of those.) And yet so, do those ideas for Scorpio.

I definitely like the sound of her being Libra, based on the description. She is, indeed, the eternal student, if there is one! Aquarius and Scorpio also could work - to learn life’s mysteries and to survive through all opposition, by my source.

Ace - March 1st, 1982

Now, for Ace… I’m indecisive. Guest and those who aren’t Kat, I mathematically calculated possibilities for Ace’s birthdate.

See, he had a birthday on a Saturday sometime in 1992 in the comics - 206. It could have been any - any - Saturday in ‘92. However, Bon Bon is at a swimming lesson and Teddy is in the water, so it clearly isn’t super frigid out. There is also school that week, so it would have to work there.

I mathematically calculated it because a waning crescent moon appeared in the night sky in Key to Your Heart. So the birthday of ‘92 would have to be somewhere in between the third quarter and the new moon - halfway.

So that left me with four possibilities:

November 21st
December 26th
February 29th (Somewhere near there - his year of birth isn’t a leap year)
March 28th

December 26th is an interesting possibility. It took place in a cold month - December. But my headcanon has Ponyland as a very warm place, with Tropical Island right nearby, though I’ll have to see comic #42 to judge accurately. If it’s snowing outside during the day, I’ll… be in trouble. But here’s the interesting part: Ace’s voice actor, Brad Swaile, was born on the 26th!

But if that was the case, then not only would the kids be at school, but Melody would have gotten a detention on Christmas day… seriously, what the living heck would be up with THAT?

So, in the meantime, I’m going with the idea that, on leap years, Ace celebrates his birthday on the 29th of February AND March 1st, though in fact he was born on March 1st. Pisces doesn’t fit Ace one bit, but it could somewhat fit with my revised continuity, so… yay.

Aries does SO fit Ace, though. And March 28th would fit there… Gah. I need to think about this.

Patch - March 16th, 1982

...Okay, so this is canon. Official. Known. What we’re better off asking about this is, if she is an orphan who could have been a candidate for the princess position, HOW did they know this? Did they assign an arbitrary birthdate to her? For real?

My definition of Pisces fits Patch better than that one. Her life pursuit is to avoid feeling alone - she was indeed facing that crisis in Princess Problems - and to build meaning relationships with others. Her “secret desire” is to make dreams and fantasies into reality.

Fun fact: I’m Pisces, just barely not Aquarius. So I have the same zodiac sign as my favorite character. ...Yet I fit Aquarius way better than I do Pisces. *shrugs* Eh, pseudoscience.

Teddy - April 16th, 1982
(Annotation - Character)

Now, Teddy. I didn’t really have much on which to date his birthday… so I decided to base it partially off of my love of the idea of him being older than Sweetheart. I don’t really have much to say, except for this: Sweetheart would have to convince the girls to come to his party. Poor dude.

He probably isn’t the oldest either, considering some of his rude behavior. I know some characters are naturally rude. But some of the stuff he does is really immature! ...Characters can be naturally immature, too… Alright, maybe Patch teases him about being younger, I dunno, okay? I need to analyze this guy first thing when I get this worked out...

His birth sign by this date is Aries. It doesn’t work for Teddy NEARLY to the extent that it does for Ace. By my source, by astromancy, it would be that he wanted the thrill of the moment (sure) and leadership (ehh…).

That said, Leo works for him from an astromancy standpoint. SUPER well on your description!

Clover - April 30th 1982
(Annotation - Headcanon and Character)

Now things get a bit sketchy for me, as I haven’t quite reorganized my idea of Tales continuity in light of new information yet. But I’ve always had Clover and Sweetheart as the youngest two of the girls.

Now, the reason I think Clover is so young is partially thanks to her sensitivity, and how intensely she looks up to her big sister - though that kind of goes with her personality. As does her indecisiveness and creativity. I guess that you could just say that she has a young personality, for the most part.

But like I said with Bon Bon: though she is prone to those swings between giggling with glee and feeling like the bottom of the universe, she is naive. This naivete works well with her character, but for the dynamic with Bon Bon as well (though she could be any age).

Taurus actually works well with her character. Not perfectly like, say, Capricorn, but wanting security makes sense.

Oh yeah, and by the way, I gave your least favorite main Tales character your birthday. Didn’t realize that until now… ahh.

Capricorn and Libra… yeah, those work really well for Clover! Capricorn especially from my source - “Wants to be admired by friends, family and the world” and “to be proud of her own achievements.” Libra works perfectly in your case, though.

Sweetheart - May 10th, 1982
(Annotation - Continuity and Officiality)

See what I mean by “sketchy?”

Today I was plotting out the Tales season as a rough draft. And I found something: though things fit, I couldn’t push Happy Birthday Sweetheart past May! So, hence, she gets May 11th, which hopefully isn’t too close to a certain dark blue sword pony’s or purple horse’s.

Anyway, this is a Sunday in May that fits between Clo and Lance’s birthdays. May 10th. You, Kat, made a brilliant point about Happy Birthday Sweetheart, you know - I never looked that deeply into it. I used to have it take place in February. Because the continuity seemed to work there. But, I suppose not, because they were actually rather spread out in my draft.

Again, puts her at Taurus for astromancy, which does fit somewhat. Not perfectly like some others might, but that’s fine! I mean, it’s astrology.

But yeah, again, great points. Great points.

Lancer - May 17 or 29th, 1982
(Annotation: People)

Now, this is an odd date. Right smack-dab a week later than Sweetheart’s, and in a month that’s busy in birthdays as-is. Now, why, great, tell, is he in this month?

The former date is actually a callout to one of the awesome users on the Schoolhouse: Lancewing. Basically, I figured he had Lancer as a favorite pony. So… why not? That’s my reasoning anyway. But it could also be the twenty-ninth. Because that is the midway point between Mr. Shane Meier (Lancer’s voice) and Lancewing’s birthdays.

Astrologically speaking, he is either Taurus (makes sense) or Gemini, which amusingly has the life pursuit to “explore a bit of everything.” Which means that, if I choose the latter birthday… then we had the same conclusion. But even if not… we have the same month, and late in said month. It’s fate for him to be born in late May!

I’ve been writing this for six hours and I’m not even sick of it… huh. 2,345+ words here. As a matter of fact, I'm more disappointed that I'm 17 minutes late than anything...

[Kat]

Notes - before I go any further, the comics were put out in 1993 - not 1992! So your calculation for Ace is off regarding moon phases.

And it definitely snows during the winter - they have snowball fights and the woods is covered in snow (not just a dusting - thick snow). I'm pretty sure the Tales world has a very "special" sort of geographical climate, because Tropical Island is rather close (Melody's family visits by taking a taxi and then getting on a boat). So I think we're just screwed with lazy geography planning on Hasbro's part.

Oh and I was pretty sure WS said her character sheets were legit and not fan-made when she got them? I never heard her say anything about them being fan-made at least... But the comic does introduce Starlight as being the oldest of all the girls: "Hi, I'm Starlight! I'm the oldest of this bunch, which means everyone expects me to know all the answers..." Which also reiterates her position as the "leader" of the group.


ETA: And yeah I laughed when I saw you give Clover my birthday.

[Notes]

URRRR-! Alright, revised to 1993 possibilities are

April 17th
August 14th

...Even narrower than before. >.< I need to think about this - I'll get back to you eventually.

*fundamentals of headcanon are destroyed* I better do meteorology research, so I can figure out an explanation, then. More research for me, then. Hooray.

Hmm... they looked official, but might not have been. We need to ask her, for sure.

Yeah, that's the proper verbiage. She is, which means I just need to figure a fitting birthday out. I was wondering where the rest of those character introduction things. Based off of that I already know she calls her friends "this bunch," so I can't help but wonder what else I would learn.

[Kat]

Well I just learned that my boyfriend broke my camera so there goes any new comics for a bit.

I can type out the full introduction for the 7 though for you (not sure if I put it in Patch's profile or not, but in her intro she says that she wants to track down the legendary Christmas Pony). And Clover definitely has self-esteem issues that her parents may or may not intentionally play into ("...my parents would be disappointed if I weren't as good as my big sister"). I'll try and type the whole thing out for you tomorrow. I need a break tonight though.

[Notes]

Wah!

Bwahahaha! I knew it! I knew it all along! Patch, oh man... that pony is awesome.

Definitely. Poor Clover...

Thanks, Kat. I get you need a break too. (3 Enjoy for as long as you like.

[bobdude]

Patch: Santa hunter extraordinaire. And I can see Clover having self esteem issues, reminds me of Shady from Dream Valley G1.

[Notes]

Reminds me, bobdude... when I heard the "All Wrong, All Right" song, I couldn't help but be reminded of Clover and Bon Bon voice wise.

And who is this... this SANTA of which you speak?